Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills reacts after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Why Seahawks 'Dark Side' Defense Was Upset After Super Bowl Win

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Feb 21, 2026 11:00 AM ET

The Seattle Seahawks are still celebrating their big Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots earlier this month.

The Seahawks won the game on the backs of an incredible performance from the defense, which cemented its legacy in the game. However, there wasn't a 100 percent satisfaction rate amongst the defenders despite wasting the Lombardi Trophy.

"We were a little upset that they scored at all in the Super Bowl, to be honest," Leonard Williams said via team website writer Ari Horton. "We were trying to make history and have the first goose egg in Super Bowl. We took them to the fourth quarter. It was still a great feat, just the type of season we had as a defense, the type of season we had a team, and I think we capped it off the right way."

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Seahawks Defense Wanted More in Super Bowl

The Seahawks defense held the Patriots scoreless through three quarters, but that was not their goal; they wanted to shut them out through 60 minutes. They fell short of that goal because the Patriots scored two touchdowns in the final couple minutes of the game, but the contest was well out of reach by then.

The Seahawks defense shouldn't be disappointed for giving up just 13 points in the Super Bowl. As a unit, they surrendered a league-best 17.2 points per game all season long. The last time a defense gave up that low of a point total in a season was back in 2023 when the Baltimore Ravens did it. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was their defensive coordinator that season.

The Seahawks defense knows it made history, and the bittersweet part about it is that there is a good chance it will not be able to be repeated.

"This team, it won't be able to be done again," Seahawks defensive back Julian Love said via Horton. You guys have seen it, we've talked about it ad nauseam, this team was so close, it was really cool, and thankfully, now it's stamped in history. Every five, 10 years, we'll be able to link back up, so thankfully we have that.

"Next year, it's going to be hard to replicate, but the great part about it is that the core of that is the youth on this team, and for the most part that's going to be back next year. The coaching staff, for the most part, is intact, the core pieces will continue that. And it's not something you talk about, it's something you just live."